Architecture has it's own filmfestival in Rotterdam

Rotterdam is a picturesque city as the photograph by Ruben Dario Kleimeer above shows! But not everything is beautiful according to some. During the coming Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam (AFFR 2011) a short film is shown about ugly Rotterdam. It's one of the hundred movies, debates and excursions.

Flyer

Perfect decor

The main programme takes place at LantarenVenster. The cinema on Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam is located in Álvaro Siza’s New Orleans and happens to be surrounded by buildings by architects of world renown and therefore is the perfect decor.

LantarenVenster

This coming festival is the sixth edition of the biennial festival for films concerning urbanism and architecture. This time the main theme is: Think Big, Act Small. The consequences of a worldwide crisis are also becoming apparant for architecture and urban development. While in Europe there's mostly being talked about shrinkage of projects, but elsewhere in the world cities are expanding very rapidly. This is partly caused by small, personal initiatives. A number of films demonstrate that such movements can lead to big results.

Première films

A screenshot from Rotterdam, a short movie about ugly Rotterdam

But as mentoined before not everybody is always happy with new architecture by big name architects. Although Rotterdam has a lot of new buildings by famous architects it doesn't always work. The short film Rotterdam by Core van der Hoeven is screened for the very first time during AFFR and adresses the mistakes made. It's a seventeen minute tirade about the terrible improvements the city made the past decades.                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                                 Photo: Ruben Dario Kleimeer

                                                                                                                                                                                                Flyer: Studio Beige

                                                                                                                                                                                                Photo 1: Rotterdam Marketing

                                                                                                                                                                                                Photo 2: Core van der Hoeven